Valuable contact data can be found in many different places and it makes sense to centralize in one system of record—Contactually. While you can sync contacts from your email account, in many cases, there is no direct connection between your contact information and Contactually. When this happens, the best approach is to export from one system and import into Contactually.
When you import into Contactually, email address is typically the best "key" to match on. If Contactually sees an email address that matches an existing contact, your new information will be appended, rather than creating a new contact. If you do not have an email address in the other contact source, use first and last name. These records will not be automatically combined with records that match on name, but will be surfaced as Duplicate Contacts so that you can combine them yourself.
You do not need to import all fields from your contact sources. The import process will allow you to select the fields that you'd like to see in Contactually.
Common sources of contacts:
- Another CRM (SugarCRM, Act!, etc)
- Google Groups to Buckets or Tags
- iCloud
- Mac Address Book/Apple Contacts
- Outlook Contacts
Another CRM (SugarCRM, Act!, etc)
Most CRMs offer a way to export your contacts as a csv file. Try searching for "export" or "export contacts" in their help center. If you have any issues exporting from your previous CRM, their support team will be able to help you. If you are planning to cancel your account, you should complete the export process and verify the results prior to closing the account.
There is no officially-supported way to export your contacts from Facebook. However, some members of the Facebook community have posted about different approaches that you can try to get a copy of your Facebook data, including under Settings > Your Facebook Information.
You can also export birthdays from Facebook. To add these birthdays to Contactually, you will first add the birthday calendar to your own calendar (like Google or Office 365), and then export that calendar following the instructions specific to your calendar program. Follow these instructions from Facebook to add your birthdays calendar.
Once you export the birthday calendar from your calendar, you'll likely have an ics file that needs to be convert to a csv file to import into Contactually. There are a number of conversion options available by searching online for "ics to csv converter". For whatever option you choose, make sure that you select an option to create a header line or header row in your resulting file and that you choose to have separate date and time fields, as Contactually cannot import times to birthdays.
It is important to note that Facebook will not include an email address in the birthday calendar, and so this data will not be appended to existing contacts. You will end up creating new contacts during this process, which can then be merged with your existing contacts. Contactually will attempt to suggest all relevant merges.
Google Groups to Buckets or Tags
If you want to use Google Groups as Buckets or Tags in Contactually, you will need to export this information separately from the normal Google contact sync, as this information does not sync by default. Follow these directions from Google to export.
Take a look at your Groups before importing. If you have contacts in multiple Groups, the Group name should be separated by a comma; this is the only format accepted. When you import your file, you can assign your Group column to the Buckets or Tags field.
iCloud
To export, sign in to iCloud and go to Contacts. From the Settings gear, choose Export vCard. If you have any issues exporting from your iCloud Contacts, Apple support will be able to assist you.
You'll need to convert the vCard file to a csv format to import into Contactually. There are a number of conversion options available by searching online for "vCard to csv converter". For whatever option you choose, make sure that you select an option to create a header line or header row in your resulting file. Contactually needs the first row of your csv to include the labels or name of the date.
To export from LinkedIn, follow these directions and choose a csv file output. If you have any issues exporting from your LinkedIn account, LinkedIn support will be able to assist you.
Mac Address Book/Apple Contacts
To export, go to File > Export > Export vCard... If you have any issues exporting from your Apple Contacts, Apple support will be able to assist you.
You'll need to convert the vCard file to a csv format to import into Contactually. There are a number of conversion options available by searching online for "vCard to csv converter". For whatever option you choose, make sure that you select an option to create a header line or header row in your resulting file. Contactually needs the first row of your csv to include the labels or name of the date.
Outlook Contacts
To export from Outlook, follow these directions from Microsoft. If you have any issues exporting from your Outlook account, Microsoft support will be able to assist you. You may not need to export Outlook Contacts if they sync over with your email address. However, if you do not see your full set of contacts or if you have additional custom fields, you can export and import.